A sophomore majoring in engineering, Yusef (Bobby Naderi) seeks living quarters with fellow Muslims after a year in the godless dorms.

He moves—rather improbably, given his conservative nature—into a building inhabited by various punky misfits (it is unclear whether they are also students) wrestling with their cultural and religious identity.

Others include ever-shirtless skateboarding wild man Amazing Ayyub (Volkan Eryaman), spike-haired stoner Fasiq (Ian Tran) and brawny, glowering Umar (Nav Mann), the would-be moral enforcer in a houseful of rebels against Koranic strictures.

Sole female in residence is Rabeya (Noureen DeWulf), who wears a head-to-toe burka yet is full of ideas that might be considered blasphemous.

(in alphabetical order) [1] The Taqwacores features an original score by Los Angeles composer, Omar Fadel, as well as licensed music from The Kominas, Sagg Syndicate and Al-Thawra.